Prevalence of Sexual Abuse ID'd in Urological Patients

More than 70 percent of abused participants support screening for abuse in urological practice

FRIDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of sexual abuse (SA) in patients seeking urological care in the Netherlands is 2.1 percent for men and 13.0 percent for women, according to a study published in the October issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Jack J.H. Beck, M.D., from the Zuwe Hofport Hospital in Woerden, Netherlands, and colleagues investigated the prevalence of SA in men and women visiting a urological outpatient clinic. Questionnaires were completed by 845 patients (75.7 percent male responders) to identify SA. The primary outcome was self-reported prevalence of SA. Data about the assailant, victim's age at the time of the abuse, disclosure of SA to the urologist, whether the urologist had asked about SA, and patient opinions on standard screening for SA in urological care were assessed as secondary outcomes.

The investigators found that 2.1 and 13 percent of males and females, respectively, reported a history of SA. Nearly 42 percent of the participants reported that the assailant was a stranger. The SA occurred before adulthood in nearly 90 percent of cases: 31.2 percent in adolescence and 56.2 percent in childhood. Of the respondents with a history of SA, 15 percent had disclosed it to their urologist. The idea to screen for SA in urological practice was considered good by more than 70 percent of the abused respondents.

"The prevalence of SA in patients seeking urological care in the Netherlands is 2.1 percent for men and 13.0 percent for women," the authors write.